Collection PL

New Zealand 1905–1916 - Bank of New Zealand £1 Red Cancelled Specimen with Serial Number Prefix E300001–E400000 (Pick S212bs)

Numbered specimen from the terminal E300001–E400000 block of the BNZ £1 Red (Pick S212bs), printed by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. Perforated SPECIMEN across the signature panel and preserved with wide selvage, this pull represents the final and rarest stage of BNZ £1 Red archival production. Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924-1933) - Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings with Perforated SPECIMEN Printers Archival Proof (Pick S161s)

Printers archival proof for the Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings, classified in the Standard Catalog and grading records as New Zealand Pick S161s (ND 1924-1933) and produced in London by Charles Skipper and East. This piece was never intended for circulation. It was created as part of the printers internal proofing, approval, and archival process and survives as a workshop original documenting the final approved design for a denomination that ultimately never entered public issue. Read more →

New Zealand ND (1924-1933) - Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings Oversized with Perforated SPECIMEN Printers Archival Proof (Pick S161s)

Printers archival oversized proof for the Bank of New South Wales Ten Shillings, classified in the Standard Catalog and grading records as New Zealand Pick S161s (ND 1924-1933) and produced in London by Charles Skipper and East. This example survives on an oversized, untrimmed sheet and represents the most internal and earliest preserved production state of the design. Read more →

Mexico 1884 – Fábrica de Tunal 1 Peso (Pick Unlisted, ABNC)

As an issued and numbered piece (serial 07769, control letter 'A') this example comes from the active circulation series-not an archival pull or proof. Issued ABNC corporate notes are dramatically scarcer than the proofs occasionally seen from late ABNC dispersals. Notes like this circulated aggressively, were redeemed on payday, and were routinely destroyed during accounting consolidation. Their life expectancy was short, and surviving high-grade examples are exceptionally rare, especially in the PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated range. Read more →

Mauritius 1843 - Mauritius Commercial Bank 10 Dollars / 2 Pounds Sterling Remainder (Pick S122r)

This note represents the archival stock of the 1840s issue - printed but never signed or circulated. It carries the same engraving and layout as the fully issued 1842 Ten Dollars / Two Pounds Sterling notes, showing the Port Louis harbor with moored vessels, bonded warehouses, and the neoclassical bank building anchoring the composition. The vignette is among the earliest engraved landscapes used on any Mauritian banknote, reflecting the colony’s maritime identity and its economic dependence on shipping and re-export trade. Read more →

Argentina 1881 - Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires 2 Pesos Oro Proof (Pick S536fp)

Printed directly from ABNC master plates in black ink on thin India paper and mounted on card stock, this piece confirms its pre-issue proof status. Such proofs were prepared as part of the approval process before full production, allowing the bank to review design and engraving quality. The absence of serial numbers and signatures reflects its archival purpose rather than circulation intent. Read more →

New Zealand 1924-1925 - Bank of New Zealand 10 Shillings with SPECIMEN Perforation Front Proof (Pick S231p1)

Archival proofs like this survive only because Bradbury Wilkinson preserved reference sets for internal documentation. When BWC’s archives were dispersed in the late 20th century, just a handful of front proofs from this series reached collectors. With PMG 63 Top Pop status, this example is the finest-known surviving representation of the BNZ’s last major design update-a foundational artifact in the story of New Zealand’s path from provincial commercial banking to a unified national monetary identity. Read more →

Argentina 1867 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 4 Reales Plata Boliviana Proof (Pick S1734p)

Archival proof printed by the American Bank Note Company for the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata, dated 1 Enero 1867 and assigned to the Rosario branch. This fractional 4 Reales denomination belongs to the transitional pre-peso period when Argentine provincial banks still operated under the 'Moneda Boliviana' standard inherited from regional trade with Bolivia and Peru. Read more →

Argentina 1871 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 10 Pesos Rosario No. 000001 Specimen (Pick Unlisted)

This specimen represents an archival control note of the Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 10 Pesos issue prepared for the Rosario branch, dated Rosario, 10 de Noviembre de 1871, and printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London. It was produced as part of the bank internal authorization and registration process for provincial issues and was never intended for circulation. Read more →

Argentina 1884 - El Banco del Chaco 1 Peso Moneda Nacional Oro Serial 05056 (Pick S1566)

Unlike high-grade examples from Buenos Aires, northern provincial notes almost never survive intact because the region lacked strong archival institutions. Political instability, bank reorganizations, periodic flooding, and tropical climate ensured that 99.9% of these early issues were destroyed. A fragment is not a flaw-it is evidence. Evidence that the note was part of the real economy, not a boardroom ornament. Evidence that it passed through human hands and frontier markets instead of resting untouched in a London drawer. Read more →

Uruguay 1862 - Banco de Londres y Rio de la Plata 100 Pesos Specimen (Pick S245s)

Issued shortly after Uruguay’s 1862 banking law authorized private note issuance backed by metallic reserves, the design stands at the intersection of foreign capital and national development. Each surviving example bears the diagonal SPECIMEN perforation-Bradbury Wilkinson’s control format for archival presentation pieces, never intended for circulation. Read more →

Bolivia 1903 - Banco Agricola 5 Bolivianos Front Progressive Proof and Back Proof Pair (Pick S102pp1, S102p2)

Matched printer's proof pair for the Banco Agricola 5 Bolivianos issue of 1903, produced by the American Bank Note Company. The pair preserves both sides of the design at the production stage: a front progressive proof and a separate back proof, together documenting the complete visual program prepared for the denomination. Read more →